


Kyoko

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Anger, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-04 21:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1793992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your basic cute story of two boyfriends nwn</p><p>(also WARNING: there are some slight mentions of animal abuse)</p><p>YOU/YOUR PERSPECTIVE</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rin, It's Okay (Mako's POV)

**Author's Note:**

> just a little side note: i got an anon saying that it was racist to use japanese terms in the middle of my work. i.e. senpai, kotatsu, seifuku, etc. the side note is: fuck you. there is actually no term in english for these words so im gonna use them as i please dick.

Rin came stumbling to your home at three thirty in the morning. At first he banged on the door, calling out your name. He sounded tired... and sort of angry. But his yelling and knocking woke you up from where you had fallen asleep on the couch. You click off the TV with the remote that was still in your hand and threw it on the loveseat as you walked past it. Your feet made no noise on the wooden floors. It's not liked it would have mattered anyways, Rin made more noise than you would have if you were stomping.

You open the door slowly, and face Rin with a sleepy face. Eyes half lidded, you yawn.

"Rin, it's almost four a.m. What are you doing here?" You move out of the way to let him slip by you. He quickly becomes quiet and just about tiptoes onto the tile. It's too dark to see him whole but by the faint moonlight that seeped in through the front door you saw leave his shoes next to yours. "Rin?"

"I-I... I'm sorry, Mako, your house was just nearby" there's a sound in his voice that you can tell is the sound of crying. You would know, you have two younger siblings.

Rin sits on the wooden step leading to the hallway. He sighs.

"Why are you crying? Rin, what's wrong? You've started to worry me," you sit next to him, putting your arm around his shoulders. He wasn't okay, not at all. There was something in his arms, you realized when it meowed. "Rin? Are you holding a cat?"

It meowed again.

"Mako, I don't know if I can take care of it! I was going on a jog and some kids were messing with it and throwing sticks and rocks at it so I had to save it! But now that I've saved it, I realized I can't keep it at home and I can't take it to the pound. They'll put her down," Rin spoke quickly.

"Rin, Rin, calm down," you squeeze Rin's shoulders. "Lets get her something to drink and then take her to my room."

The two of you silently get up from your spots and you lead Rin to your kitchen then room. Up the stairs and down the hall, you open your room door and let Rin past you. Rin thanks you and sits on your bed. He doesn't let the cat free from his grasp.

"You have to let her stretch her legs, Rin."

"No."

"Rin."

He finally lets his arms a little loose and the cat jumps out of his hug. Rin lets out a little squeak when she does. You set down the bowl of milk you prepared onto the floor under the table in the room.

You sigh, but it turns to a yawn. "Rin, we should sleep. Have you not slept at all tonight?"

Rin shook his head. You can't see his face but you can see the light from the window hit his face and illuminate his sweaty skin and slicked hair. He looks down to his fingers that he played with, intertwining them, tapping them together.

"Do you want to say something?" You ask.

He slightly nods. "Yeah. Thank you, Mako."

You smile. "It's no problem. I always have my door open for you, also stray animals." He can't see you smile but you think he can hear it in your tone.

"...Mako?" Rin shuffled his legs a little in an uncomfortable way. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure, anything, Rin." You lean forward to rest your elbows on your knees.

He's silent for a moment. "Can... Can I kiss you?"

His 'favor' is a surprise. The mood went from casual to intense quickly. He fidgets with his fingers. Your silence sets him off ease.

"I-I mean, just on the cheek," but then he shakes his head, "n-no never mind the whole thing."

It's cute how he back pedals.

You take off your shirt and throw it to the ground. He watches you for a moment but then jumps a little.

"M-Makoto?!"

"Relax, I'm just about to go to bed."

"Oh..." He's quiet for another moment. You can tell he's really worried about what he just said.

"You should sleep here tonight."

He nods. "Okay. I'll sleep under the kotatsu." He begins to get up but you quickly grab his jacket's sleeve.

"Sleep in the bed with me," you say. And then you yawn again. You throw the covers off you and snuggle under your black and white blanket. "I only have one pillow, but I think we can make do."

Rin stood next to your bed and then sighed. It wasn't a "fuck. fine." sort of sigh, it was more just of an "okay." sigh. He took off his jacket and slithered his way into your bed, throwing the covers over himself too.

The two of you began to doze off and when you feel him relaxing next to you, loosening up from the tense he was a couple of seconds ago, you kiss him on his lips. You guess he was already too far into sleep when you kiss him because he only scrunches up his nose and shakes his head a little.

You lay in bed on your side, facing him. It's too dark to see his face, especially with the shadow on his face, but still, you can make out his features. Nose, long eye lashes, slightly parted lips showing his sharp shark teeth, his cheekbones, and his blushing cheeks. You watch him sleep with one hand under your head, elbow supported, one hand stroking his hair.

At some point the cat jumped onto the bed and rested at your feet. What the hell would you name that cat? It was a girl, right? You could name it... Kyoko. Kyoko was a cute name. It sounded fitting for a kitten. The cat was just old enough to leave its mamma. You assume those children had separated the kitten and her mom. How cruel. But children, regardless of provided adult supervision or not, would be children.

Rin stirs in his sleep and then cuddles into your chest. You hadn't noticed it but he'd been inching closer to your warmth since he fell asleep.

You lay there, now wide awake, wondering what he was dreaming about.


	2. Tastes Like Bananas (Rin's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin wakes to a surprise and has a pretty okay day. Thanks to Mako.
> 
> YOU/YOUR PERSPECTIVE

You had wet dreams. Fuck.

You open your groggy eyes to see a wall. That's where Makoto was last night when you quickly fell asleep in what seemed to be his embrace. His embrace could have been a dream. It could have been real, too. But maybe he was asleep when he accidentally held you like a pillow.

Fuck.

You roll over and nearly kick something off the bed. It meows at you and then bites at your exposed ankle. You pull it back under the sheets quickly and sit up. The kitten you brought to Mako's home at four in the morning sat by your foot, licking her paw.

You yawn and rub your eye, then pull the blanket off of your legs. Your jacket was neatly folded on the table in the middle of Mako's room. You stand and pop your back. The kitten jumps off the bed too and rubs against your feet, arching her back comfortably. She then sat between your feet and resumed to lick her paw.

"What will I do with you?" You bend over and pick her up. She squirms in your hands and tries to bite your thumb.

She wasn't harmed at all by the children last night. Perhaps they all had bad aim although they were basically towering over the little thing. She was a little white fluffy kitten with a gray nose with an ashen face. Her paws were white and her legs were sort of stubby. She was adorable and although you loved cats... you had no idea how to identify this kitten's breed. She looked like a mix. Even if she were a mixed breed, who would let her out on her own?! The thought of someone throwing away a kitten for their breed angered you, and you nearly grunted in anger.

The door began to creak open and Mako quietly stepped inside. He carried a bag from the market in his hand and you think he was trying not to make any noise at first.

"What did you get?" When you speak up, Mako jumps. He thought you were still asleep.

"Oh, Rin! Good morning, I didn't know you were awake," he said as he set the bag on the table. "I was trying not to make any noise but it seems I didn't have to worry."

You clench your jaw. You were suddenly uneasy standing in the same room with him. Mako sat on the floor with his legs crossed and began rustling through the bag. He pulled out kitten food. The can had a cartoon cat on it smiling. You cringe at the cliche look of it.

"Let's keep her."

"Keep her? Let's? Mako--"

"Our cat," Mako looked up from where he sat. He gestured to the kitten in your hold.

"Our cat? Like we're her parents or something?" You can feel your cheeks flush and he smiles at you.

"Yes, let's raise her. I've already decided on a name."

"Name?"

"Kyoko."

"It... that... sounds fitting. For a cat, I mean," you sigh and let her jump out of your hands onto the table Mako sat at. Mako chuckled sweetly at the kitten and opened the can of cat food in his hand. He set it on the table and Kyoko begin to eat it all like the kitten hadn't eaten in days, which was actually very likely.

"Kyoko...," you repeat. 

* * *

 

Three hours later the two of you were sitting on Mako's bed drinking banana milk from the corner store that Mako had picked up when he had gotten on his way back from getting cat food.

"So what kind of cat is Kyoko? Do you know?" You ask.

"Yes, she's a ragdoll."

"That's rude, Makoto."

"No, no, I mean, her breed. It's rare to come across a stray full breed but she is a purebred ragdoll cat for sure."

"How do you know?" You ask. You're halfway done with your milk and set it down on the desk next to his bed. 

"I'm in love with cats, Rin, they're just so cute. Of course I know majority of all breeds and how to take care of them. I've studied how to understand their meowing, their body language, their signals, their everything. Cats are so cute," he kept talking about their fur and their paws and ears but you drain it all out to just watch him go on and on about how amazing he thought all feline animals were. "You know on our way to school every morning I see a little white cat. I always give it a snack and then pet it."

You nod, eyes slightly shut, concentrated on his features, not his words. You don't reply to him.

"Rin."

Finally you sit up straight and realize you'd been staring. "Y-yes, I like cats too."

Mako gave you a look and then smiled and laughed. "Is that so?"

The two of you stare at each other.

He has a straw in his mouth but he isn't drinking his milk. The two of you hold your stares while you search each other's faces for whatever. You look over his jaw line, his droopy eyes, over his cheekbones and his laughter lines. Then you look into his green eyes. It was strange that he had green eyes. His parents had brown eyes. But then again it wasn't your place to talk. You were the one with fuchsia colored hair and eyes. But at least you and Gou resembled your parents.

"Mako."

"Yes, Rin?"

"Last night, I said I wanted to kiss you."

"Yes, you did." Mako finally took the straw out of his mouth. "And we did."

You creased your brow. "What? I don't remember."

"You were asleep when I kissed you."

You shake your head. Again, you felt your face heat up. "I... don't remember even feeling it. I remember being held by you but that's it."

"I wouldn't really call it holding you. More like we were laying close to each other," Mako took another sip of the banana milk. There was a hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Do you... maybe want to kiss now that I'm awake?" Immediately after saying this you blush madly. Your little warmth on your cheeks turned into a pounding in your head and it was much hotter in the room. The heat made you want to take off your jacket but you didn't want to make the situation any more awkward.

Mako looked up without moving his head. He gave sort of cute stare, of course he didn't mean to though. But the shy look on his face made you want to go on and kiss him already. But of course you couldn't do that without his permission.

He nodded finally.

"Yeah, I'd like to."

You immediately lean in, a little too quickly you think, but you do it and press your lips against his and he stays still for a moment before putting his banana milk on the desk next to you. He puts his hand on your cheek and his warmth explodes through your face and down your spine. When you part your lips in a slight gasp, he enters your mouth with his tongue and you moan and slide your tongue past his too.

He turns you around to where you're pressed against the wall and he's between your legs.

"Mmmmmm...mmakoto--" you manage your words between your wet kisses. He pulls away only for a moment.

"Rin.. If we keep going I won't be able to stop."

"Then don't--" you slide your arms around his neck and pull him closer to you, kissing him again. He tastes like bananas.

Mako kisses down your cheek and then neck. Shyly, you try to cover your neck with your chin... it tickled. But Mako reached around your back and grabbed you by your hair and forced you to expose your neck. He kisses your neck and bites a patch of skin by your collarbone. You squeak a little at the feeling of his teeth. He bites your neck and chest is several places before slipping his free hand under your shirt, and when he does there's a knock on the door.

The two of you jump back to get away from each other and Mako breathlessly yelps, "Yes?!" as you frantically search for your jacket. You fall off the bed with a thud on the ground and finally find your jacket somewhat strewn under the bed. You zip it up to the top of it's zipper as quick as you can.

"Mako," his mother began, "Haru, Nagisa, and Rei are here."

"U-uh tell them I'll be right down!" Mako searched for something too, although you couldn't figure out what he could be looking for.

"Okay, I'll make some snacks for you all."

You search your jacket and pants' pockets for your phone. Finally, when you find it under Mako's sheets on his bed, Mako is staring you down.

"Will you leave when they come up here?"

You stare back at him.

"I don't know. Do you want me to?"

"No."

"Then no." You bite on the inside of your lip. "I won't."

"Stay up here then." Mako steps forward and kisses the corner of your mouth then leaves the room.

You do so. You sit down on his bed and Kyoko jumps onto the bed next to you as well. She squirms her way into your lap and purrs and rubs against your chest. You pull her to your mouth and kiss her right under her ear. She tries to bite at your cheek when you do so. There's talking downstairs and it gets louder and louder with footsteps mixed in. Mako's sweet voice is interrupted several times by Nagisa's chirpy one.

"Yeah, and Rei was so excited. He doesn't look like someone to get excited over something like that but he's a real big nerd about it!" Nagisa laughed and you hear Rei tell him to shut up.

Finally the group makes it to the door and Mako opens it. Haru is this first one to make eye contact with you. He stares at you for a long moment and finally his eyes light up. They always light up when he sees you.

"Rin!" He says. You look down and start petting Kyoko on her chin. You don't look back up. 

"Ah yes, Haru. Everyone, Rin stayed the night last night. He brought over a new friend. Kyoko," he gestured to the kitten in your arms and you don't move again. Kyoko purrs under your hand and you feel the vibrations against your fingertips.

"He's beautiful!" Rei exclaimed, coming forward quickly to try and pet her.

"It's a she," you say. Rei pets right under her ear and Kyoko purrs against his hand now.

"What do you mean? He's a boy. You can tell because look under his tail," he slightly tugged up on Kyoko's tail and yup. That was a boy. How could he miss?

"How did I miss that?" Mako sat next to you on the bed and scratched Kyoko's jaw. With so many hands on him, Kyoko rolled over on his side and meowed, stretching out his paws. "Then what do we rename him?"

Nagisa sat down in front of the bed and only watched. "Let's not change his name. We're all boys with girl's names, so it's fitting."

"It does fit, Mako. Don't change it," Haru says. He's the last one to come closer to the group. Mako's mother eventually brings drinks and cookies into the room. Nagisa is the one to go crazy eating three at a time, of course. Rei goes on about cats and all sorts of animals, actually. Haru doesn't talk at all, only looks at the clouds outside of Mako's open window. (He would of course stare at any sort of body of water.) Mako looks at you every other minute, its only a glance but he keeps an eye on you. And you sit on the bed across from Mako. You glance up at him too, in between cookies and words.

The taste of bananas lingers on your tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pulled it out of my ass again *tada jazz hands* but at least its not two am writing this. its only 12:30 am
> 
> tumblr | [dearusagi](http://dearusagi.tumblr.com/)


	3. Monday (Rin's POV) Part 1 of 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday mornings are the worst but Monday nights can be okay.

You wake up to the sound of water running and immediately you almost piss yourself.

"NITORI!" You yell. The water stops

"Yes senpai?!" He calls back to you from the restroom. He has a full mouth of suds of course, he was brushing his teeth.

"Don't run the water while you're brushing your teeth, dammit!"

Nitori pokes his head out of the doorway and rolls his eyes at you. He's got his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "Okay, mo~om!" You jump out of your bed and he quickly ducks his head back into the bathroom.

You enter the restroom quickly to relieve yourself and Nitori continues with his business only until he realizes you were actually peeing.

"Ugh, senpai, gross! I'm brushing my teeth!"

"Cry about it, will ya? And then write me an essay on how it felt," you hope he understands your reference and he does, laughing then spitting into the sink.

The two of you finish up and fight over who left through the door frame first. The two of you couldn't fit at once facing forward so you both decide to turn sideways and go through.

Nitori sits on the edge of your bed to put on his shoes. He knows you don't like it so he's doing it to tease you but you let him have at it while he can. You'll just get back at him later. Maybe you'll throw his mattress out or pour water on it or something.

"So where were you all day yesterday, Senpai?"

You grunt and lean back in your chair. "None of your business."

"Oh don't play like that, who were you with? You said you were going on a jog Saturday night and then you don't come home until late Sunday night? That's super suspicious, you had to be with someone."

"I stayed at an old friends house."

"Friend?"

"Look.. it started raining and his house was nearby."

Nitori mocks your words as you speak them. You throw an empty water bottle at him and it hits him on the arm before bouncing back onto your bed. "Get that off before I sleep on it tonight."

He tucks it under your sheets instead. You snort.

"Ass."

Finally, he's ready for classes. You on the other hand, are not. You sit in your underwear with no shirt on. It's nice and hot in the room.

"Are you not going to class today, senpai? Are you exempt from your finals?"

"Yeah. I haven't been absent, with no tardies, so I don't see why I wouldn't be."

"Ah, I see. I was absent one day sick, so I'm not exempt from mine."

"Sucks to suck," you say, putting your hands behind your head. It's merely late March but it's already getting hot. You smirk at Nitori. "Don't be surprised if you get back and I'm away."

"You'll be with your 'friend'?"

"He is my friend!"

He raises an eyebrow at you while packing his bag for the day.

"W-well... still, he's no boyfriend or anything. He's just a friend..."

"Do you like him?" Nitori fishes for anything else about your possible crush. And you have nothing to say about Mako.

"Mako is just--"

"Makoto Tachibana?"

You freeze in the middle of talking with your hands. "How do you know his name?"

"Because he's Makoto Tachibana."

"You're a stalker, Nitori," you say. You know he went to the same swimming pool as you when you were younger.

"No, Rin, everyone knows Tachibana."

"You act like he's in a cult," you say, sitting up. You accidentally seemed a little too interested in what Nitori had to say.

"Well--"

Nitori was cut off by the first bell of the day ringing. It was a warning bell. 'You have fifteen minutes to get to class' bell.

He jumps at the startling noise of it. "Oh, senpai, I have to go! I don't want to be late for my English exam!" Before you can ask him to continue what he was saying he was running out of the dorm room.

Oh god what if Mako was actually in a cult? No, of course not. Mako was too kind to be in a gang...

Maybe Nagisa was. The shota type are always the ones to be worried about. But then again Nagisa was the cute one. Cutes don't make it in cults.

Maybe it was Haru. Yeah, you gotta be on edge about the quiet ones, the stoic ones. He fit every aspect of a gang member. It had to be him.

You pick up your phone to call Haru but then stop yourself. Why call him when you can go see him? Yeah. Show up to his school. Why the fuck not? You're Matsuoka motherfucking Rin and you do what the hell you want. No fucking gang member is going to stop you.

You jump into the shower and get dressed as quickly as you can. You're wearing your swimsuit under your pants just in case Haru tries to have a competition in a bucket of water like he always does.

* * *

 

You make it halfway to Mako's school when you realize you were using this as an excuse to see Mako himself. You accept yourself and your excuse and forget you even thought up the idea as if it were no big deal. And you tell yourself you're just going to see Mako as a friend.

Why were you still in denial that you like Makoto Tachibana?

Denial? What denial?! You didn't like Mako at all. You were thankful to him for letting you keep Kyoko at his home, but that was it. And that kiss...

What was that kiss then? That kiss when he pressed you up against a wall and lead wetness down your jaw and neck... and his hand...

You literally shake the thoughts out of your head and focus on where you step. Before you know it, you're at Iwatobi High School. You stand before it's lame appearance. In big letters over the front entrance IWATOBI in bright blue strains your eyes.

It's plastered among every edge of the inside of the school too. You don't bother with getting a visitor's pass. You know your way around this school anyways. You'd come explore it every time you came into town.

You find your way to the pool. Nobody was here. You stand under shade, behind a corner, and sit against the wall. You didn't mean to, but you fell asleep, hidden behind the locker room.

* * *

 

God dammit you fell asleep for too long. The sun was still high in the sky but when you check your watch, eight hours had passed and school was just about to let out. God damn you slept two nights today. In fact the moment you check your watch, the bell rings. You take it as your alarm and quickly jump to your feet. You need to act cool before the guys come by. Especially when Mako comes by-- wait why does that matter. Haru is the one you're here for.

Ten minutes later, Rei is the first one to come by. He's too busy looking at the ground to notice you in the shadows. He carries a bag and--yep here comes Nagisa running behind him, calling his name followed by honorifics. Right behind Nagisa only a few seconds later, Haru and Mako make their way into the chain link fence surrounding the pool. Mako sees you and stops.

"Rin!" Mako smiles at you when he sees you but then drops it. Haru's eyes light up when he sees you.

"What brings you here?" Haru asks.

You clench your jaw and repeat to yourself in your mind  _Say it, say it, say it, ask him, ask him, ask h--_ "Just... I was in the neighborhood."

Mako looks down at your clothes. "Did you not have school today?"

"I.. skipped. I didn't feel like going today. I had a headache." Was that even worth the lie.

"It's not good to skip, Rin!" Nagisa turned the corner and he scares you when his voice suddenly chirps out of nowhere. You slightly jump to the sound of it.

"Whatever, like I need to hear anything from you," you nearly growl. You look back to Haru and contemplate just blurting your question. "I-I better leave then." You avoid making eye contact with Mako and fuck if you know why you're avoiding it. You almost begin to walk away when Mako opens his mouth.

"Stay and swim with us," he says. You look up to him. "You're already here anyways."

"I don't have my swimsuit," you lie. It's a convincing lie. Kinda. They knew you usually wore your swimsuit under your clothes like Haru. But you weren't as open about it as him.

"Liar. I can see the line of it under your pant leg," Rei says. You scowl at him and he smiles back.

"It's fine, if you don't want to though," Mako says. Fuck. It's a guilt trip.

And you cant resist.

"Fine." Fuck.


	4. Monday (Rin's POV) Part 2 of 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday mornings are the worst but Monday nights can be okay..... not.

You spend the evening with your four childhood friends and teaching their new friend how to properly do a butterfly stroke. You're not exactly sure how many times he's called you beautiful but you brush it off each time. By the time the sun starts to set you're sitting on the edge of the pool, Nagisa is ranting about food, Haru is underwater, Rei is drowning, and Mako is...

When you look to Mako he's looking at you. Just staring at you, with a blank stare. You find it incredibly creepy but you don't show a reaction to it. Or you try not to, which ends up with you shyly turning your head to look in the exact direction that he's in facing to where he only looks at your back.

You stay staring in this direction, trying to look for something to actually look at, and before you find a rock or a cloud to look at, Mako's voice is behind you.

"Why did you come here, Rin?" Mako sat on the edge with you and put his feet in the water.

You turn back to him with a mean look on your face, one you'd use any other day for any other person. You don't want to give Mako the satisfaction of thinking he's special to you. You're not sure why, especially when he is special to you.

"What? Am I not allowed to be in the neighborhood? Should I have the shop I was visiting move locations as well?"

"If you visited a shop where is the merchandise you purchased?" He stares intently at you. You can do this. You can cover up your tracks. You can wing this.

"I bought a drink."

"And where is it?"

"I drank it all."

"Where is it's container?"

"I threw it away."

He stares at you even longer and you clench your jaw. He's getting to you.

"You know, Rin," he proceeds talking in a half whisper, "if you just wanted to see me, you could have called me."

You want to hit him. But you want to kiss him. He's so close to you, talking in a whisper, being... you don't know how to explain it but whatever he's doing you like it.

"I didn't come here for you."

"Then who? It couldn't have been Nagisa. Sure as hell wasn't Rei. Was it Haru?"

"Yeah," you admit without thinking. "I mean no. I told you I was just in the n--"

"What business did you have with him?"

"What business do you have with it?" You mock.

He shakes his head. "I guess I was just hoping you had come by to see me." He looks forward, out over the pool area and watches his club members.

"You know," you say, "if you wanted to see me, you could have called me."

He looks back at you and swiftly moves in closer to you and kisses you gently on your lips. He pulls back before Haru or any of the others could see.

He leaves you with red smeared across your cheeks and widened eyes.

"Idiot! Mako! What are you thinking, in front of everyone?!" You try to shove him away but he's built to be bigger than you so he doesn't budge but an inch.

He leans forward and puts his elbow on his knee and turns his head to look at you. You look back at him and stare into his green eyes. You're acting like a wimp, like you're weaker than him, and you don't like it. Well... you wouldn't. You wouldn't like being weaker than anyone but somehow you're okay with it right now. You're okay with it because it's.. it's him. It's Makoto.

"Do you...," your voice trails off and you don't mean for it to.

"Do I what?" His face sort of scrunches up on the  _what_ part. It's so cute.

"Do you even like..nothing."

"Do I like what, Rin? I probably do, just ask."

You shake your head. "No. It's nothing, Mako."

"Ask meeee," his words turn into a whine and you blush even further.

"Do you like... me..," you have to improvise. shit. fuck. goddamn. me what me what me what me "at on your pizza?"

He stops what he was doing--sitting eagerly straight up--and smiles. "I love meat on my pizza."

There's a thousand sexual innuendos in that phrase and you have to turn and look away to control yourself from both crying and laughing. It takes you a moment to pull yourself together.

When you finally do, you turn back face the pool. "Then lets order pizza!"

Mako looks at you looking somewhat sheepish, and a little bit disappointed.

* * *

At nine in the afternoon the pizza arrives at the pool's gate. The five of you decided to spend the night at the pool and only return back to your homes to change then return to school tomorrow.

Nagisa forced everyone to get the pizza with basically every possible topping. It looks delicious and smells even better. You see Makoto lick his lips out of the corner of your eye.

Haru claims that it would have been better with fish on it but all other participants in the pizza eating event decides the contrary. Rei says he's happy with whatever Nagisa wants, and Mako just smiles. You don't do anything. You just accept what you're given.

The five of you sit around a towel strewn across a couple concrete slabs. The pizza sits in the middle of all of you, steaming hot and smelling certainly fresh.

Nagisa grabs two slices, gives one to Rei and then grabs another to eat two for himself at once. You admire his ability. Haru nudges the pizza box to you and you take a piece, smiling in thanks. Mako watches you. You know he is but you don't dare look at him. You kind of want him to feel needy for your attention.

The four of them chat among themselves and you kind of start to feel left out. Fuck. As soon as you wanted Mako to want your attention you want his.

This pizza tastes great but you don't want to be here anymore. You really just want to go back to your dorm and maybe watch TV with Nitori if he's not studying.

You act like someone calls your phone and you pick it up quickly to your ear.

"Hello? Gou?" You put your slice down and then stand, walking out of their earshot and try to look busy talking. You talk into your locked phone anyways just in case. "Yeah, I can. I'm just with some friends."

Mako looks over to you and you turn around quickly so he only looks at your back. You quickly find something to "talk about" in your call.

"Okay Nitori--" Your phone lights up and starts buzzing against your ear and you almost drop it. Fuck-- You have to recover quickly if you don't want to look stupid. "H-hold on Nitori, someone's calling me." Great fucking save.

You answer your actual call and realize it was actually Nitori. "Heyyyy..."

"Hi senpai! I noticed you still weren't home and I wanted to know if you wanted to watch a movie tonight? I borrowed that movie you've been wanting to watch from a friend."

You turn back to the group sitting behind you and this time everyone is looking at you. It surprises you and you almost drop your phone under everyone's stares.

"Yeah that sounds great! I'll head home now. I was just with M--Haru and everyone." You speak a little louder than necessary. You lift a hand and play with a strand of hair on your head.

"Okay then, I'll see you back home soon."

Nitori hangs up and you do too.

There's about a minute pause where you're staring at your phone thinking. You're not sure what you're thinking, probably going over the events of what just happened. You fucked up at the point where Nitori actually called. But you recovered well. Otherwise the whole escape plan went smoothly. You think.

You walk back over to the group of old friends and try to smile a bit.

"I've gotta go, guys."

Mako doesn't say anything, only watches you. Everyone else "aw's" and "bye's" (Nagisa aw's. Haru bye's. Rei does both.) You take a glance to Mako and he looks... troubled. His brow is creased and he stares intently at you.

"I'll walk you back to your school," Mako says.

You didn't expect him to say anything, much less that.

"No, no it's okay Makoto. I'll be fine."

"I insist. It's late, there are predators out."

You clench and unclench your jaw. "Fine."

Fuck.

As you gather your clothes and put them on, Mako does the same. The two of you awkwardly slip on pants under shirt then shoes.

You two wave goodbye to the other three and head on your ways.

Not even a quarter of the way to your dorms, Mako says something about your call. "Who were you talking to on your call? The first one."

You look straight ahead and give short replies. "Nitori."

"And who did you speak to your second call?"

He's got you so soon? "What's it any of your business?"

He stops walking and you keep going, trying not to show any emotion. You really don't want to break your cool right now.

"Rin."

"What?" You don't stop walking.

"Why didn't you tell me you were just bored?"

You stop and turn around to face him.

"Because I wasn't."

"Rin if you wanted to leave just... you could have said so."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh Rin, you were talking to Gou when you were sitting with us then talking to Nitori standing up," he crosses his arms and shifts his weight onto one foot. He really looks angry at you. You kind of feel really bad.

Suddenly you realize that he was true. "I mistook Nitori's voice for Gou's. Mako they both sound like girls!"

"You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"You're a liar, Rin."

Suddenly you're filled with anger. Like it was just waiting on the surface to explode. "Well shit! Makoto what the fuck do you want me to say?! You and Haru and Rei and Nagisa are all best friends. And on the same team! You guys go to the same fucking school and have the same damn classes! You see each other all day every day and all I can do is sit back and watch from an entirely different campus. Yeah I came to hang out at your school for the fuck of it. Actually no, I came here to see you. Yeah. I showed up at Iwatobi High School just to fucking see you what's the issue there? I don't fucking see a problem do you?! I sit in my own classes every single day just waiting for it to end and when it does I return to an empty dorm room because Nitori is at the damn library studying his ass off because he missed one day of school last semester and I have nobody to talk to! So yeah I did show up today because I was bored basically. I had a hunch Haru was in a gang and I never even got to ask him about it! Why?! Because of you. Fucking you. All I can think about is you and what you're doing and if you're looking at me and if you're paying attention to what I'm doing and then when I see that your attention is on me I get happy so I start to get weird and wish you weren't but then I wish you were and it's really fucked up and I don't understand it but there's something about you that I just really really like and I can't help it!"

After it all blows out you stop yelling and huff for breath. You feel like you just made a mistake so you quickly turn to run and only get a few steps.

"I like you too."

You want to fucking scream. Out of joy? Out of frustration? Out of what? You just want to scream. But you hold it in and bring your hands to your ears and cover them. "I don't want to hear that." You know its a fucking lie but you sound very convincing.

But Mako is the only person in existence that can see right fucking through you and you hate it.

"I really like you, Rin!"

You turn back around and look him in his olive green eyes and glare as hard as you can. You have an uncontrollable urge to kiss is stupid ass face. You only stare him down though.

"I don't care if you love me or if you despise me. Don't talk to me ever again," you say as you pull your hands off your head. "I don't want to hear your voice or see your face or have to breathe the same air as you. Never appear in front of me again."

Makoto doesn't argue. You turn and leave him with a sad and almost crying face and walk fast. It takes a lot of control to walk fast without running.

* * *

When you get back to the dorm room, Nitori is expectantly with the movie ready and drinks in front of him.

"Senpai! Welcome back!"

You indulge him in sitting next to him and watching the movie. But you watch, you do not listen. You only think, remember, and regret.

God you fucking hate Mondays.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nudges you like four times* heyyyyy its been four chapters and i havent abandoned this fic!!! *eyebrow wiggle* ive got lots of ideas for the next chapters. the chapter count may even go over 24 hehehehheheeeeeee
> 
> tumblr | [dearusagi](http://dearusagi.tumblr.com/)


	5. Healthy Lies (Mako's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin is pretty healthy you know. Never has he gotten sick and he continues to keep a healthy record.

You don't hear anything from him for the next few days.

You don't call him, you don't look for him. But you wonder.

Rin seemed so angry but something told you that he was just embarrassed. That he didn't mean what he'd said. Or... you hoped he didn't. You couldn't really tell what he was thinking at the moment when he said all that.

But you really blame yourself. It was you that caused him to blow up, to shout at you. You shouldn't have called him a liar. You should have walked him back to his school without asking him about the call, since you knew that was just his excuse to leave, and given him a kiss goodnight. You try to forget it all and just focus on your studying.

Thursday.

Tomorrow is your last exam, your English exam, and then you're off for spring break. Two weeks of not having to worry about all of school, the swim team, and possibly your boy problems. You can just sit back and maybe go swimming and then sit outside with ice cream and Haru. You imagine what it would be like to actually sitting poolside with a popsicle and everything just kind of becomes warmth in your chest. And then Rin crams his way into your mind and... cools it down. But in a good-ish way. He's smiling and racing Haru. And there's Nagisa and Rei too. They're sitting under shade with popsicles too, flirting. You guess... your happiness lies in your friends.

"--ko... Mako!" Haru sits on the other side of the table the two of you sit at studying.

"Hm? Huh?!" You suddenly jerk awake from your daydreams and pick up your pencil again. It's a cute little mechanical pencil that your little sister gave you, it has a killer whale on it. She said killer whales remind her of you. It's kind of fitting, you guess.

Haru studies you for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"What? Haru," you give a smile and chuckle, "I'm fine."

"You're worried about Rin, aren't you?"

You bite on the eraser of your pencil. "Mmno."

He stares at you a bit longer. "Are you sure? You can tell me anything, Mako, we're best friends."

You pause and look up to him. When you do you see all of his concern in his face. He puts down his textbook and you look back down to yours and take off your glasses.

"I made him mad and I haven't talked to him since Monday."

Haru tilted his head. "Oh c'mon, Mako, you sometimes go weeks without talking."

You swallow. You should tell Haru you like Rin. He deserves to know. Rin was... well, Rin. Their history together was so big. It's shocking that you're the one that ended up liking him. But Haru didn't like people romantically...nor sexually, at that.

"I have feelings for him."

You don't get a reply from him but you also don't want to look up at him.

Haru sighs. "Yeah, we know."

His tone forces you to look up. "We?"

"Nagisa, Rei, and I. We know."

"How? When--"

"When you kissed him at the pool. That was pretty hard to miss. Also how you're so into every conversation we have about him. Your face when you see him."

"Is it really so obvious?"

Kyoko jumps onto the table and settles his little kitten body onto your book and curls up on it. You itch under his chin and then behind one of his ears.

Haru leans forward and puts his arms on the table and stretches. He smiles at you.

"Besides, isn't Kyoko the two of yours' pet? Why isn't he helping take care of him?"

You look at your phone and then pick it up.

"I'm going to call him."

When you want to see him... you should call him.

Kyoko looks up to you as you dial his number. He meows and purrs.

The phone rings several times and--goes to voice mail. You hang up.

"He didn't answer."

Haru bites down on his dolphin pencil. It was another pencil that your little sister got for him. A dolphin seems quite fitting for Haru, too. Ran is good at these animal assignments. You wonder how she chooses them. You should ask about Rin, Nagisa, and Rei's animals sometime.

Haru looks down at his phone and picks it up. "I'll try."

He dials Rin's number and the two of you wait. There's an answer on Rin's end.

You can't hear what the other end is saying but the voice sounds too high to be Rin's.

Haru sounds surprised at something they say. "Oh, okay. Thank you anyways. Could you tell him that Makoto called?" The other side doesn't say anything and then suddenly hangs up.

Haru hangs up too. "That was Rin's roommate, Nitori Aiichirou. He said that Rin couldn't come to the phone because he was running fever. And when I asked him to tell Rin that you called, he just hung up."

The news surprises you and you slam your hand on the table, making Kyoko suddenly jump up onto all fours and hiss. "I need to see him."

Haru shakes his head. "Don't go tonight."

"What? Why? Haru he's obviously just avoiding me and I don't want him to."

"What are you? Jealous? That Nitori gets to take care of him? If he says he's sick you should just go along with it. He doesn't want to see you, Mako."

"And maybe I am jealous of Nitori  _taking care_ \--" you bring up quotation marks with your hands, "--of Rin. Maybe he doesn't want to see me but needs to see me--"

"Mako this isn't a fucking drama," what he says surprises you. He's never one to swear except for when he's  _really_ angry. "You're not going to have your little dream relationship, nobody ever does. You're going to go through so much pain. The two of you aren't even going out. I mean, get over it."

You settle down again and blink a couple times.

"Did I make you upset, Haru?" You ask. He doesn't answer. There's a long silence that lingers between you two.

"No. I'm sorry for saying all that. Ask Gou tomorrow about it. I'm going home."

Haru stood and collected all his books and stood. He left before you could either protest or say goodbye.

* * *

Friday morning you wake with your face in your pillows. Your knees had curled to your chest and you hugged your blanket closely. You usually don't sleep like this, only when you're... sad.

Morning is bad for you. Usually you're a morning person but your eyes burn and your back aches. Kyoko follows you to the restroom and sits on the edge of the tub as you brush your teeth and brush through your hair. You can't feel your head but you know its just because of how worried you are about Rin. You won't do good on your exam today if you don't know if he's okay or not.

You walk back to your room and sit on your bed. You unhook your phone from it's charger and call him.

He answers.

"What the fuck who is this its like six am--" his voice is so tired. You didn't realize it was so early. You look to your window and realize its still dark outside.

"Rin," you begin, "I know its early. Well, I didn't know before you said it was six, but I know it's morning. I just need to know if you're okay. I have an exam today but I won't be able to get through the day without knowing. Please just tell me you're okay. It's fine if you're mad at me, but if you're actually sick please tell me. I just need to know--"

"Makoto...," he yawns. "I'm okay. Do well on your exam today..." he doesn't hang up but his voice fades out and there's nothing but silence on his side. You know he fell back asleep. He doesn't snore. You found that out when he slept next to you. He hums. A little sound in the back of his throat that doesn't even shake his voice box. It's a hardly noticeable sound but you hear it... you do.

"I love you," you say.

There's no sound from the other end, still.

You sit there for a while listening to him breathe and faintly hum. You finally hang up when there's a hint of sun behind your curtains you hang up and begin getting ready for school.

* * *

Your exam goes smoothly. You can't say you aced it, but you don't think you failed it either. Haru sits next to you messing with his pencil then writing down things probably related to swimming. He doesn't seem upset like he had the other day and you're thankful for that but you also really want to ask him about it.

"Hey Haru--"

"You should ask Gou about it."

"What?"

He puts down his pencil and looks up to you. "Gou. Rin's sister. If he's really sick then shouldn't she know?" He looks back down at his paper and continues to draw. "If you ask me, its suspicious that he's sick. Rin's never gotten sick before." He's right.

You stand and gather your things. "I'm gonna go see her." Haru doesn't say anything back to you.

You leave the classroom quickly. You didn't exactly know where Gou was but you could probably guess she was at lunch. You didn't really know where she ate lunch but you could probably guess it was outside or maybe by the pool.

You pass Nagisa on your way to the pool area and next to him is Gou. They stood talking about whatever could be so important until you step in and speak up to her.

"Where's your brother?"

Gou looks over to you and tilts her head. "Not even a hi, Makoto? Rude."

"Where is he?"

She rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone. "He should be at his dorms. I wouldn't know if he's anywhere else," she rolls her eyes at you and turns back to Nagisa, who looks worried at you.

"Is he sick, do you know that?"

She turns back to you and crosses her arms. "No. My brother has never once gotten sick in his life. You know, you're being awfully rude today, Makoto."

"Thank you," and you turn and leave the room quickly, not listening to anything she says calling after you.

///

You're thee-fourths of the way to Rin's school when you see a familiar head of hair crossing the street a few yards ahead of you. You try hard to remember his name. You think it was.. Aiichirou? "Aiichirou!"

The boy finishes crossing the street, now on your side, and turns around to see who was calling him. He carried a plastic bag in his hand with his other hand in his swimming club jacket's pocket. When he sees you, his face goes scarlet.

You walk a little faster and he starts to turn.

"Aiichirou! Wait, I--"

Aiichirou turns around and begins to walk fast. You walk faster as well and get a few feet behind him when he decides to start running and you immediately think  _Oh hell no I am not fucking doing this today. It's not even a training day._  " _Aiichirou!_ I said to  _WAIT!_ "

Finally the silver headed first year stops. He turns to look back at you and clenches his jaw. "What?!"

You yell back, "Is he really sick?!"

He doesn't answer. "Senpai doesn't want to see you right now."

"I'm not asking to see him."

"If I tell you, you will do it anyways."

"I won't."

He gives you a stern look and you hand him a desperate one. Finally he speaks. "Yes, he's sick."

You immediately start walking past him.

"Hey you lied! You said you wouldn't go see him!"

"Yeah well he lied too."

Aiichirou follows you the remaining way to Samezuka Academy trying to convince you to turn around but hell no. You were going to be by him if he was sick.

You remember him telling you that his room number was 2...12? 214? 2-something. You step into the elevator of the dorm and hit the second floor. Aiichirou follows not pausing from his ramblings. When you get out of the elevator he jumps in front of you, walking backwards, putting his hands up like he was trying to slow you down. But right now you were angry.

Aiichirou keeps walking backwards until we reach dorm room 2...10. You turn to knock on the door.

"Rin! Open the door!" Aiichirou becomes quiet and waits also. You knock again, this time louder and harder. "RIN!"

A door behind you creaks open quietly.

"Nitori.. what's with all the noise--"

You turn and look at the guy with red hair and gold eyes. Samezuka Swim Team captain Seijuro Mikoshiba stands in the crack of his room door staring at you. He swings it open and walks out, in his swim suit and a towel around him. It's like... noon. Why was he in his swim suit? Eh, not like you actually cared. 

"Ahh... is this Rin's boyfriend?" He smiles at you. "Makoto Tachibana."

"Mikoshiba."

"Tachibana, you roll around in midday to save your boyfriend?"

You think over the word boyfriend. He was exaggerating, just to tease you. "Yes, I'm here midday to save my boyfriend."

He closes his mouth and looks sternly at you. You stare him back in his eyes.

Rin's door creaks open and you turn to look at Rin who is wrapped in a fluffy blanket. He has bags under his eyes and he sniffs then yawns.

"Mako.. please. Sorry, Mikoshiba, for the noise. Mako, please come inside."

Mikoshiba nods and goes back into his room while you and Aiichirou enter their room.

You stand by the door, not wanting to make a wrong move.

Rin goes to his bunk and lays down curled up in a ball. "Did you get the medicine, Nitori?"

"Yes, senpai," he pulls out of his plastic bag some sort of red liquid medicine. Rin doesn't even measure what he intakes, he just pops off the cap and takes a swig of medicine, then makes a grossed out face.

"Tastes like rotten cherries."

"Well it seemed better than moldy grapes."

"Yeah, probably," he said, twisting the cap back onto the bottle and handing it to Aiichirou. "Hey Nitori, will you let us talk in private for a while? I'll call you when we're done."

Aiichirou nods silently and puts the plastic bag on the bed next to Rin and then leaves. As he passes you, you receive a dirty look from him, which you shrug off.

Rin stays silent for a bit until you're forced to say something first.

"You lied to me."

"You had an exam."

"Your health matters more than my test!"

"Makoto.. no."

You walk forward to see him closer. "You matter to me more than anything else, Rin, yes."

"Mako no."

"Yes."

"Did you do well on it?"

"I.. I think so."

"You suck at English though."

"I know--"

"You would have failed that test if I had told you the truth."

You don't say anything back, giving in to the fact that he was right.

"I like you, Rin."

"I know."

"I like you and I just want you to be okay. I worry about you all day and I can't stop thinking about you. How did you get sick anyways? Gou said you've never gotten sick before."

"The academy's nurse said she thought it was stress induced."

It hits you like diving into a frozen pool. You made him like this it's your fault.

"R-Rin, it... its because of me that this happened."

"Probably."

Neither of you speak. He only pants and sniffs and coughs. You don't do anything until finally you decide to move to the sink and fill a nearby cup up with water. When you give it to him he smiles and it's the first time you've seen him smile in so long. It makes you smile back.

"I like you too, Mako."

He sits up, holding his head and takes a sip from the cup. After so he yawns, then drinks the rest. You wish you could hold him and make him better again just from holding his soft body. You mean... he was more muscular than anything but with him looking so weak and small like that, you...

You lean down, hold the back of his head, and kiss him.

His lips were hotter than usual, but they were soft and they kissed back. He grabs onto your jacket collar and tugs you down. You obey him and crawl on top of him, one hand supporting you up, one holding him by his neck and thumb on his jaw. You hold his head tightly and kiss him hard, and he kisses you too.

Only he suddenly pulls away to turn his head and cough.

"Makoto... you'll get sick, lets stop."

You shake your head and lean down to kiss him again but he turns his head again so you only kiss his cheek.

"I don't want you to get sick because of me. You're already contaminated with my germs anyways."

"Yeah so we might as well--"

"Drink some of the medicine and lay with me.

The thought of cuddling Rin was the best thought ever and you do what he says. You sit back on your heels and reach into the bag on his bed and take a drink from the medicine, making a similar face to is that Rin had made. But it goes away quickly.

Rin lays in front of you with his eyes closed and chest rising and falling quickly. You don't lay next to him. Instead you get him more water and a cold wet towel to lay on his head. You check the closets for a room moisturizer, finding one in a cabinet.

Once you find everything and apply all remedies, you sit on the bed next to him.

"Let's be boyfriends."

He doesn't make a sound, he only grabs onto your sleeve and nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i lied 2 u he was sick
> 
> also yooooo i m sorry it took forevER to get this chapter out  
> however it is longer than usual ;w; so forgive me plz
> 
> also if there are multiple mistakes... over look them pLZ it is 8:30 am and i have NOT slept im just really tired ok so theres a lot of grammar fuck ups i promise and theres no way im going back over it to proof read fuck that noisE
> 
> i have no good excuse for posting this late  
> what i was doing: rping gay sleepovers  
> what i was not doing: rping straight sleepovers
> 
> also plz do not expect a new chapter with in the next two weeks at least. i will be out of town and out of reach of internet for about a week and the week after that i will be extremely busy with school things!  
> but i will make up for it with dirty gay smut afterwards i promise u that wink wink wink
> 
> tumblr | [howunpleasant](http://howunpleasant.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> me: pulls every ending of every chapter out of my ASS
> 
> tumblr | [dearusagi](http://dearusagi.tumblr.com/)


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